Blog Post 5: Katie

Today, after coming back from our morning activities, Ellie (my roommate) and I came home to Salma and Henna in the kitchen cooking. Because their mother and older sister was gone from the house, the two younger sisters had to take the responsibility of making lunch. For lunch, we had bread with a main dish, of which we all shared, of vermicelli noodles with roasted chicken, carrots, potatoes, and eggplants. There was a side dish of chopped bell peppers and tomatoes drenched in lime– it kind of reminded me of salsa. The main dish was filled with so many different flavors and spices and its savoriness paired perfectly with the side dish– this lunch was a perfect thing to come home to.

After eating, all of us worked together to help clean up. After cleaning up, Salma suggested a game of Uno. Ellie and I nodded agreeingly and the four of us sat around a table on the beautiful and comfortable couches and dove into a round of Uno.


Ever since the first day, it’s very obvious that food and games are very effective ways to connect. Even though our Arabic is not very good, we have gotten to learn more about our host families and even host cousins through meals and intense games! It’s only been a few days since we’ve met our host family but I can’t wait to spend more time with Henna, Anas, Salma, Shayma, Mohammed, and Hadijia. 

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